John Cornyn urges DOJ to investigate U.S. contracts with Russian firm aiding Syrian government

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, along with 31 other members of Congress, sent a letter Monday to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, encouraging the Department of Justice to assist in the Pentagon’s investigation into “possible criminal activity by an Army acquisition office that procures helicopters from the Russian firm,” according to a statement released by Cornyn’s office.

Sen. John Cornyn (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

According to the press release, the same Russian firm is supplying weapons to Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

Cornyn and his colleagues mention allegations of criminal activity by at least one official of the Department of the Army’s Non-Standard Rotary Wing Aircraft Project Management Office, which is in charge of the Department of Defense’s Mi-17 helicopter program.

“These allegations, if substantiated, would represent not just a violation of the law, but also a breach of the public trust,” the letter says.

Citing an August report from Reuters, the letter says the Defense Criminal Investigative Service has been running a criminal investigation and is examining “questionable transactions” by the NSRWA, including possible payments to Russian companies involved in Mi-17 overhauls and possible personal ties between at least one Army official and those foreign entities.

According to the Reuters article, the Pentagon began an investigation of an “Army aviation unit that awarded tens of millions of dollars worth of contracts to Russian and U.S. firms for maintenance and overhaul of Russian-made helicopters.”

The letter also brings up the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s inquiry into NSRWA’s procurement of new Mi-17 helicopters, again citing the Reuters article.

Since 2011, more than $1 billion worth of contracts for Russian aircraft from Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-controlled arms exporter who is supplying weapons and ammunition to Syria’s government, the letter says.

The letter goes on, saying American taxpayers are victims in this situation, as “the Army is paying Rosoboronexport more than double what the Russian military itself is paying right now to buy nearly identical helicopters.”

“These facts, taken together with the news report, raise very serious questions about the Army’s entire Mi-17 program, including whether the various contracts for procurement and overhaul were the products of criminal misconduct,” the letter says.

Cornyn and the other senders of the letter urge the Department of Justice to use all resources available, including the FBI, to look into this matter and if those involved are found guilty, to be prosecuted.